Renraku-gakari
by Skymaster23
Summary: This is a semi-AU story starting between episodes 58 and 62 where Aizen's treachery catches the attention of more than one faction. Chapter five up, Ichigo ventures onto Yoruichi's old stomping grounds. On hiatus until the post-Can't Fear Your Own World novel elaborates on what Itegumo's abilities are.
1. Chapter 1

Renraku-gakari.

Disclaimer: Skymaster23 has no connection to Bleach.

Multi-chapter story.

* * *

Soul Society, 118 years ago.

An individual is walking around a forested area when he hears what seems to be faint splashing sounds. "That noise? Could it mean..." He asks himself before he grins and heads towards the source. "Salutations, kind sir or madam! It has been many a day since-" He starts to say before hearing a shriek.

"Mi-minaide!" The kind person yelled before tossing a large rock at his face.

Once he recovers from that, he points at the person. "What, pray tell, did'ya do that for?!" He asks, only to notice one odd thing about the person in front of him. "And how can you appear my age with hair like that?"

The other person is quiet for a moment before replying. "Sorera no kotoba, wakarenai."

The boy blinks and fold his arms. "Just where am i?" He asks next, and points to himself. "What is your name? Mine is..."

* * *

Yonbantai courtyard, present day.

After recalling Minazuki, Unohana turns to leave. "There is somewhere i want to go." She says, only to stop after a few paces. "But...if I'm correct, **they** may need to know of this sooner rather than later." She tells herself, and vanishes for a bit before returning with a jigokuchou.

"Wait, you're not planning on asking for him to come here already?" Her assistant asks as Unohana draws her zanpakutou again and opens a senkaimon before saying something to the messenger and sending it in. The pair depart in a certain direction.

* * *

Elsewhere, a person is at his desk when the messenger flies in. The person nods and calls for someone.

* * *

Back with the two shinigami, they are several miles into their journey when they are met by a figure in chainmail and a tabard with the Latin number 7 on it. "This must be big if someone like you seeks our aid." He says while narrowing his eyes.

"What was that?!" The fuku-taichou asks while taking a step forward, but Unohana glances at her.

"Now is not the time for old wounds."

"...Very well, it would explain all the fluctuations we've been detecting lately. Just what do you have in mind, and why call us?" The newcomer asks her as he looked towards the execution hill for a moment.

"Several days ago, the gobantai taichou, Aizen Sosuke, was found dead."

"What...from what i was told, there are only three aside from you who could match him, even if by surprise." He says aloud.

"That is part of why i sent the summons; i think there is a fourth." Unohana tells him.

"And who would that be?" He asked, but before she could answer, a heaviness is felt. "Wh...why is it getting warmer all of a sudden?"

"That would be the sou-taichou, but we must continue." Unohana explained as she helped her assistant stand up again.

"Where to, taichou?" She asked.

"Choushijurokushitsu."

After a bout of panic from the assistant, the three are making their way to the government district, they all turn to see a burst of pale-blue light from the hill. "Now what; wasn't that one of those spells of yours?" He asks, only to gasp as a cloud of dirt as big as the nearby spire appears after hearing something about a ryoka and the number 88*. "What the hell did you get me into; is this the end of the world?" He asked, thinking that for a second, it almost looked like a skill he'd seen before.

"Calm yourselves." Unohana tells then, only to see three others in the distance, but says nothing. "We must keep going." She said next before she started running.

Once they arrive, the newcomer raises a brow. "This person you called us about sure must have been an impatient one." He quipped. Unohana says nothing.

As they reach the underground assembly hall, however, the assistant places her hands over her mouth as they see the carnage. "Every last one...Taichou?!" She asks as she takes a breath.

"How can this be...all of them...killed at once? Captain?!" The newcomer asked as well as he stood by one body slumped over pointing to the right as if attempting to jump over the table.

While noting the state of the remains, Unohana's hand twitches. "I have to admit there are few ways to kill this many so quickly, but the answers will not be found here." She says, and heads back outside before performing shunpo.

Almost as soon as the newcomer caught up, the faint sound of an explosion is heard from the tunnel entrance. The three rush in to see another disturbing sight. Without even waiting for the boy to fall, the newcomer begins glowing and begins changing into what appears to be a boar-like animal. Aizen starts to say something, but is cut off as the newcomer vanishes for a second and plows him into the wall of a second tower only for a second Aizen to appear and raise a hand. "Hadou no sanjuhachi: hyoga seiran." He said, causing a torrent of ice to engulf the newcomer.

* * *

Ichibantai courtyard.

Two days after the defection, Unohana, Kyouraku, Ukitake, Zaraki, Kurotsuchi, Sui Feng, Hitsugaya, and Komamura, their assistants, Rukia, Ichigo and his companions are standing. "Any ideas what that geezer called us for?" Zaraki asks outloud.

"Whatever it is, we will wait for him to explain as long as he sees fit." Sui Feng replied.

"Peh, friggen shrimpy bit-" Zaraki was saying when Yamamoto shows up.

"My apologies for bringing you out here despite the conditions some of you are in, but recent events demand we all be summoned." He tells them.

"But if it was not Genryuusai-dono, then who?" Komumura taichou asked.

"We did." Someone calls out, and they all look to the right to see two people.

"Aren't you the little early bird." Kyoraku tells one of them.

"Any idea who that is, Rukia?" Ichigo asked, only for Uryu to reply.

"The one on the right, Kurosaki, is a Nephilim; while the other is a Shabh Alfaris. They're foreign equivalents to the shinigami."

"Equivalents? You mean they do konso instead of quesy's?" Ichigo asked him, causing an anger vein.

"We're called Quincy, and all i could do is shoot hollows." Uryu replied before looking to the newcomers again. "Although, the nephilim aren't supposed to have Zanpakutou like you do, they just use stamps."

"If not with zanpakutou, then how do they fight hollows?" Chado asked him, only for Yoruichi to join in.

"I can answer that; you know how i am able to change form?"/"Nuh-uh; i absolutely do not want to hear it!"/"It's the nephilim's special ability." She explains while Ichigo covers his ears, and Rukia draws. "They call it _Effusione pellis_ , and it causes them to change into any animal from reality or fiction. I learned how to do it back when i hadn't even gotten used to my shikai, so it doesn't quite work when i change back." She said before Rukia spoke up.

"I hope my illustrations were of aid to you, Shihouin-dono."

Yoruichi looks down to examine them, then grins. "I'd say it certainly...no, definitely resembles the style you'd expect from the Kuchiki clan; but you can skip that -dono dono talk."

"You mean it?! Oh, i simply can't wait to tell nii-sama how his mentor praised my art skills."

Ichigo is about to comment on that when they hear a smacking sound. "Ow...what'd i do?"

"As if you don't know; i have nothing to say to you, Captain "former husband" Pendleton." Kotetsu Isane tells him while scowling.

* * *

A few minutes earlier. "Aren't you the little early bird...Byu-kun." Kyoraku-taichou said to one of the new arrivals, a tall man physically in his mid-twenties wearing chainmail. The only difference was that this man had a sword at his side and a sleeveless haori with a hood under which blond bangs were just visible, while the other man was wearing exactly the sort of clothes Ichigo and the others had seen on TV.

"I guess; but it was only 177 days." The first replied.

The second man turns his head. "177 for you, Pendleton; i was not due to arrive for another 23 years." He said, making the first hold his hands up a bit.

"Don't take it out on me just cause your naptime was interrupted, sir Naaji." Pendleton told him, getting a sneer in response.

"You dare think me lazy, boy?!" The second growls while Uryu glares at Ichigo in the background, then huffs and rolls his eyes.

"Aside from that-" Pendleton says as he looks around at the crowd. "Let me just say...dai niiii...hajimemashite!" He added with a big grin, which he drops when he noticed "a few of them" were too busy arguing while another worked on some sort of book held sideways.

"...Anyway, it seems we have some new faces around here." He says when he notices three individuals of two very different sizes. "So this one actually goes to meetings, huh?" He tells himself under his breath.

"What'cha here for so early, hanehane?" The smallest of the three asked, seemingly not noticing the look of suspicion before the spike-haired man speaks up.

"Yachiru, don't shove your elbow in my face."/"Oopsy."

As the second man shakes his head, the first looks elsewhere. "And it seems some familiar ones are here...too." He says as he looks up at the third. "Er, not sure what word to use here."

"Than how about you not use any." Komamura-taichou recommended.

"Deal!" He says to his former commander before turning around. "Now that that's taken care of; good to see you got yourself one of those badges, Isane." He says as he moves to place a hand on her shoulder, but she smacks it away. "Ow...what'd i do?"

"As if you don't know; i have nothing to say to you, Captain "former husband" Pendleton." She tells him, giving off a sense of something other than simple anger.

"...Aw, don't be like that, it'll be just like-" He tries to say before Unohana-taichou interrupted.

"Would it not be best if you got back on topic, Captain Pendelton?" She asked, her tone bringing up a story Isane once told him when he first heard a certain word.

* * *

Soul Society, 119 years ago.

As she was out on day gathering wood for a fire, she sees some flashing lights amidst the trees and heads towards them. After a while she hears clanging and shouting. "-mned monster!"/"Where is she, where is sh-gah!"/"Takehiko; no, stay bac-ahh!" She hears, along with other voices ceasing one by one, the only indicators they existed being several bodies, half of which were in more than a single piece. Those, and one that was standing. A woman wearing black, yet covered in red.

The young girl notices the woman appearing to move her mouth, but couldn't tell if anything was said at first. "Where is it! You can't hide forever, my hitsuzen!" She then hears in a loud voice, followed by the woman sending a fist into a trunk, causing it to split and fall. Once that sound faded, the woman begins to turn when she hears a sound. A glint is given off by her blade, and she vanishes once the girl can open her eyes again, only for the sight to be of it sliding into view from behind her. "I've long since learned not to think youth equals innocence. Show me your hands, before i take them." The woman said in a voice colder than the steel she was holding.

The girl's only response was a gurgling noise making her look around. "Never heard it before, child?" She asks in a flatter tone, and the girl shakes her head and show her something.

"No, but what about these?" The child asks her, holding up one of a few metal rods as the woman narrows her eyes.

"Fill your stomach." The woman tells her as she turns around.

"Wait! Where are you going?" The child asks next. "I'm Kotetsu Isane; who are you?"

"...Shinigami." The woman replied without looking back before disappearing.

* * *

Back in the present, Captain Pendleton sighs. "Aright; later then." He says and both he and the second newcomer walk up the oldest of the gathering and bowed.

"Huh, what that all about? "Do any of you know who that guy is, and haven't i seen that person he's talking to before?" Ichigo asked aloud.

"She's the Yonbantai fuku-taichou, Kotetsu Isane-dono; but I'm not sure about the one with the haori."/"Me neither. Must have shown up after i left." Rukia and Yoruichi reply.

"I've seen him before." Hanatarou tells him. "That's Buford Pendleton. He was the former Nanabantai fuku-taichou, and later was transferred to the Sanbantai as it's taichou."

After recalling the short clash he had when he first arrived, Ichigo looks to him again.

"So he was the taichou of that scrawny grey haired guy who took off the other day?" Ganju asked while Ichigo glared at him.

"Not quite. Ichima...that deserter took over when Captain Pendleton left for the other Soul Society a few decades ago." Hanatarou explained some more.

"Okay; but why would she risk treating someone who outranks like that in broad daylight?" Yoruichi asked him, only for another voice to answer.

"I think it's easy enough to guess for a former-"/"Matsumoto, stay out of it." The jubantai pair both say.

"Heh, no reason to think much of it, Ryoka-san; Yama-ji didn't say anythin' about it, after all." Kyoraku-taichou told them before looking forward.

"We are again pleased to be in your presence, Yamamoto sou-taichou-sama." The two men say, and stand straight. "And yet, we can't help but be displeased. What is this we hear of you going so far as to you **that** on a mere goteitaishi?" The older of the two asks him.

"If you are referring to the execution, alkabtin Naaji, the orders came from what was believed to be chuo shijuroku." The sou-taichou tells them.

"You believed, yet you never gave any thought to the constant contradictions they gave?" alkabtin Naaji "asked" him. "It is after all known to you just why the Sokyoku is intended for taichou's alone, isn't it...unless you are not as unaware of this incident as you claim?"

The Ichibantai fuku-taichou then speaks up. "You dare accuse Eijisai-dono of involvement in this?!"

But he stops when Yamamoto raises a hand. "To what are you truly referring?" He asked with a tone indicating the answer.

"We refer to the fact the stand can only become active if a taichou's reiatsu permeates it, thus removing the threat of collateral damage, sou-taichou." Captain Pendleton answered.

As the two visitors continue speaking with the sou-taichou, Ichigo and his friends glance at each other over the last few words. "Collateral? But how would a whole city's worth of people get heart problems if Kurosaki-kun hadn't broken that post?" Orihime asked, causing them and the four nearest shinigami to stare at her.

"Inoue, you're thinking of cholesterol." Ichigo tells her as Hanatarou nods.

"What the two men over there are implying is that if it Aizen's scheme hadn't been halted by both your orange haired friend here...as well as a certain someone-" A dark haired lady with glasses said while glaring at Kyoraku. "-Then the stand could have overloaded, causing everyone within 40 miles of the site being incinerated." She explained further.

"And it only took 3 and a half months for you to figure out; loyal to a fault, indeed." Uryu commented while pushing up his glasses. "And who might you be, exactly?"

"I think Kyoraku-san called her Nanao when i ran into them." Chado explained.

"I'm Ise Nanao, hachibantai fuku-taichou; and i don't like that tone, quincy...but i won't deny your words, other than that you may not be thinking far enough." She replies while looking down. Uryu raises a brow just before they hear someone else.

"Hey Uryu, remember that thing about getting burned to death; well..." Ganju says while pointing at Ichigo, who is in the middle of the two rows with Sui Feng blocking his way.

"What the hell does he think he's doing?!" Uryu asked just as loudly.

"Tanpopo just realized those new guys aren't siding with kuronegi down here." Ganju explained while glancing down at Rukia.

"Kuronegi?"

"Nevermind that; Chado-kun, get Kurosaki back here before he gets us arrested again!" Uryu demanded.

Earlier with the two visitors.

"Just how did you manage to let this happen, sou-taichou; could it be that you've been on the job too long?" Pendleton asked while looking down at him.

"I have been at this...job...long enough to not fall for such provocations." Yamamoto replied with one eye open. "You read Unohana-taichou's report on what the traitor explained to her before fleeing, correct?"

"I did; but you would have us believe that Aizen was telling the truth about this "kanzen saimin" of his?" Pendleton asked next before Kurotsuchi snorted. "Does the junibantai taichou have something to add?"

"Not at all; i was only thinking of what is to be found once this debacle is over and i can have access to Kyouka Suigetsu." He said before returning to his spot.

"As one who can read facial expressions just as well, if not better then either of the nibantai taichous, i can say that he showed no signs of deception." Unohana replied while Sui Feng clenched a fist and Yoruichi's eye twitched.

After a few seconds, the two visitors lean towards each other. "You've worked with these people closer than i have; are we to accept this?"/"Lying does cause changes in the facial muscles and the eyes; as Soul Society B's foremost medical expert, she would be able to spot those signs even at a distance."/"Very well."

"We will clear you of collaboration; but you still missed the chance to uncover his duplicity when the chuoshijurokushitsu became too interested in executing one minor underling even if she did commit a maximum offense." Naaji said, causing Ichigo to interrupt.

"Hold it, excuse me...what does that mean?" He asked as Sui Feng rushed in front of him with a hand on her zanpakutou's handle while Chado headed over.

The two glance at each other again before Pendleton replies. "Sui Feng taichou, at ease."

"You have no authority to tell me that." She says without looking away, until he says two small words.

"Ja-chan."

She flinches and sneers before relenting.

As Ichigo and Chado swear they saw flames surrounding her as she walked off, the western looking person approached. "As much as you'd not agree, giving powers to a mortal is bad; it's just not "throw a sun at them" bad." He tells the boy.

"So then what would you have done?" Ichigo asks after sending Chado back, only for Pendleton to stare at him. "What are you looking at?"

"No, must just be coincidence." The captain says after walking around him.

"What is; hey, answer me, already."

"What we would have done is simply have her reverse the process and erase your memory of the event, assuming you survived like you did before."

"Eh, survived?!" Ichigo shouted.

At that, Pendleton heads back to Yamamoto and says something to him. "This inquiry is hereby adjourned; all except Sui Feng taichou and Kyoraku taichou will return to their compounds. The ryoka will accompany Unohana taichou. Dismissed."

* * *

As the others part ways, Matsumoto gives a glance behind her. "Say, when Pendleton-san was looking at the ryoka's leader...do you suppose-" She says before Hitsugaya taichou turns his head.

"Don't dwell on what was, Matsumoto; there are only three deserters that need dealing with." He tells her before walking off.

"Taichou...what would you say right about now?" She asks while looking upward.

With Ichigo.

"Hanatarou, you said you're the seventh person of her group, right?" He asks.

"Yep, what do you want to know?"

"Aside from all the stuff you said before, i heard a bit about this compound of yours from Chado and Ishida, but what about those two?" He asks more quietly before Ganju went on about having been there too.

"Unohana taichou? Well, in all our history, she's one of the two taichou's who've been incharge of the yonbantai, and one of the two remaining from the day the gotei jusantai was formed." He explains.

"She is? So, would that be why they said that the same guy who one-shotted me, Renji, and two taichou's ran away from her?" Ichigo asks, making him pause.

"I honestly don't know. Until you showed up, no one has ever seen her so much as look at her zanpakutou."

* * *

Back at the Ichibantai.

Once the crowd dispersed, the real business began once Yamamoto sat down in his office. "Now then, how are we to respond to all this?" He ask them.

Kyoraku made the opening response. "The first thing to do is determine how far this goes; i doubt Ichimaru and Tousen are the only ones in on it." He says while looking to Sui Feng, who huffs before nodding.

"I will personally investigate each agent of mine from each compound and replace them, failure of this level can not be allowed." She tells them.

Yamamoto nods before turning to the other two. "What is the reaction from your respective commanders?"

"Soul Society C is still debating. General Kysely does offer support, but it'd be limited due to the hollow activity caused by that war the mortals started a few months ago." Pendleton said, followed by Naaji.

"Which may even increase if this Aizen of yours has indeed sided with the menos grande."

"Which leads to another, perhaps even bigger, problem." Kyoraku says aloud. "Just what do they have to gain from doing anything other than munching on three former taichous, and what was that thing the ryoka claim Aizen took out of Kuchiki taichou's sister?"

"And why would Shihouin Yoruichi risk appearing before us at the same time?" Yamamoto added. As Sui Feng leaves at the mention of the last name, she and the others all think back to an even more disastrous time.

* * *

Shinigami Zukan.

As Ichigo and the others are leaving, he stops and turns. "Wait, i almost forgot...Yoruichi, you said you knew shikai right; that means you have a zanpakutou too?"

"Sure, why do you ask?"

"Couldn't you have used it back at Kukaku's so i could have had an easier time beating up Renji and Byakuya, or even when i was doing that bankai practice?"

"Oh...i would have and all, but we both prefer i not go overboard on measly little hollows." She explains.

"Go overboard?" Ichigo asks, causing him to imagine her surrounded by hollows.

"Huh, ganging up on little old me?" Figment Yoruichi says as she draws a blade out of it's sheath. "Sucks to be you...Bankai!" She shouts, and out of a burst of smoke, a battleship appears and blows all of them up.

"You mean it would have done that to me?" He asked while backing away.

"Done what?" She replied with a look of confusion.

* * *

Chapter 1.


	2. Chapter 2

Renraku-gakari.

* * *

A sense of unease fills the room as the three inwardly shift through the implications until the sou-taichou speaks first. "Sasakibe, inform our sanseki to find Shihoin and have her speak with me at the earliest convenience."

"Him; am i to do something else?" His fuku-taichou asked after appearing out of nowhere.

"Indeed; but that will be carried out later." Yamamoto tells him, and looks to the door. "Ukitake taichou, since you seem to have nothing else to do, search the daireishokairou for any signs of unauthorized access." He says as the rest turn to see the mentioned person enter. "And do make sure you do so empty handed."

"You're not going to let me hear the end of it now, i see." Ukitake says as the scene temporarily changes to shows the lower part of someone in a dark purple robe with gold trim standing infront of the soukyoku.

"Regardless of the intention, you brats still damaged kidoshu property!" Yamamoto shouts, opting let him find out the hard way that it would be coming out of his and Kyoraku's paychecks.

"Aw, it'll only take a century for it to recharge." The latter commented.

"I could care less about that." Yamamoto replied as the unnamed department head is shown with his face white as a sheet at the sight of the broken execution stand and the hole directly under it. "There is also the matter of what the ryoka leader did back there."

"Which may prove all the more concerning." Naaji added as he looked Ukitake in the eye. "According to what we both read, Aizen used a single finger to stop the fully released blade that stopped the kikouou at only half strength." He says as he turns to Yamamoto, who had both eyes open. "This is unthinkable! How are we to deal with such might?!"

"Which brings me to two questions...this ryoka boy...he's a Shiba, isn't he, Ukitake taichou?" Captain Pendleton asked, causing him to sigh.

"I admit, Buford-kun; when i first saw this Kurosaki Ichigo at the senzaikyu...it was as though i was seeing both of **them** in the same instant." He says while looking away.

Pendleton had few encounters with either of the men being mentioned, but had long since noted their absence at the courtyard. He mumbles to himself and changes the subject. "Aside from that, there is one other thing i wish to know. The fuku-taichou of Kiganjou's successor...is she really a shinigami?"

"What makes you ask that, Capt. Pendleton?" Yamamoto asked him.

"You heard it, right; "hanehane"? How would someone who's never met me before use that word?" Pendleton asked in response.

"And that she was so undetectable to us until then is unheard of." Naaji added.

"The one you speak of is named Kusajishi Yachiru, and to be honest, very little can be said; she and Zaraki taichou simply appeared one day from their namesake districts. Which shinigami he stole his zanpakuto from is unknown, but his fuku-taichou received hers just as everyone else did*." Yamamoto explained, to which Kyoraku nodded.

"I don't think I'll ever get how dai-senpai was so interested in taking the day off back then." He mentioned, causing Pendleton and Naaji to look nervous.

The latter speaks first. "W-with that, i believe i have enough to give to my superior...you as well, Pendleton?"

"Yes, i do too; but i have some unfinished business to tend to before that, farewell." He says as the older visitor departs for his realm only to see another unexpected person at the door.

"I did not send for you, Kurotsuchi taichou." Yamamoto said, but the new arrival waves it off.

"Be that as it may, there is something, or rather someone i need to speak with you about...alone."

* * *

At the same time that Ukitake was being discovered, Ichigo's group arrives at the sogo kyugo tsumesho, he takes a look around. "So this is where you work, Hanatarou?"

"It sure is, hope the activity doesn't bother any of you." He replied as he leads them in further.

"Don't worry 'bout me, my old man works in this field."/"If you've seen one hospital, you've seen them all." Ichigo and Uryu both say before glaring at each other, which gets directed at Hanatarou when he steps inbetween and stumbles back.

"There a problem, Yamada-danchou?" A shinigami about Chado's size asks while helping him up.

"Danchou?!" Most of the group asks him.

"Uh-huh, I'm incharge of the fourteenth advanced response team, which makes Aoga-san here one of my subordinates**." Hanatarou explains, which all but Orihime looks unconvinced of.

"Is that for real?" Ichigo asks Rukia, who nods.

"I do seem to recall him mention that while i was being held at Nii-sama's compound." She tells him before they hear a commotion behind them.

"That's one size too small, get back to the supply room right now!" A person with blond hair and glasses shouts as he pushes someone out of a room.

"Seems our "noble effort" is rearing it's ugly head." Uryu says as they start to realize the effects of their intrusion.

"I wonder which of us put that person in there?" Orihime asked, causing Hanatarou to say none of them did.

"That particular patient is Hinamori Momo of the...the gobantai." He answered while getting a scowl reminding Ichigo of one his dad had the first time he was suspended from school.

"Gobant...you mean?" Ichigo says before walking closer to the room to see inside. What he saw made him grip the paneling of the doorway.

"Calm down, you're over-exerting." Yoruichi say while grabbing his wrist and pointing to a number of shinigami who are crouching a bit from Ichigo's reiatsu. "Anyway, as difficult to see as that is, it's far from the worst thing Aizen has to answer for."

"If so, then it would be best to speak of this elsewhere, Shihoin Yoruichi." They hear from behind them to see an older person with a black streak in his otherwise grey hair.

"Who's he?" Ichigo asks as he reaches for zangetsu, only to remember he handed it over when they entered.

"That's Okikiba-sanseki; he's another of the old codgers from Ichibantai." Yoruichi explains while the person balks.

"I haven't lived for 1700 years*** just to take that from-"/"Right, right, i get it...is it just me Yamamoto wanted?"

"Yes; it is not my place to speculate, but i imagine you will not agree unless he goes with, correct?" Okikiba asked her while looking at Ichigo.

"You got it...better keep your schedule empty cause we're gonna be busy for a while." She tells him as she reaches for his wrist again.

"Hey, why do i hav-" He tried to say before she dragged him off.

After the three are out of sight, Orihime looks back to the room for a moment. "Is that girl in there a friend of yours, Kuchiki-san?"

"Hinamori-san? I'd have to say not quite. I have seen her before, but Renji knows her better since they were academy classmates." She explained as she gave a glance in the same direction.

"That would make sense considering which posting he has." Uryu said aloud, briefly thinking back to when he saw the six symbol on the back of the redhead's commander. "If they are in the fifth and sixth, respectively, which of the thirteen are you part of?"

Rukia then grins and reaches for her book again. "In a way, you already answered that. You know how i mentioned classmates; well, there's a place here called the shinoreijutsuin, which all shinigami go to...except for Zaraki taichou, but that's not important." She says as she goes through the pages. "After six years, those who pass are granted an asauchi, aka, an unborn zanpakuto, given a choice of one of the jusantai, the onmitsukido, or you can skip the sword part and enter the kidoshu."

Once they all get past the words and the childish drawings, Uryu repeats his question. "That's certainly impressive, but that eliminates five of these taichous for you to serve under." He says as he counts on his fingers. "You don't serve under the three that ran away, with this adopted brother, or Zaraki."

"True. After graduating early, i was assigned to the thirteenth, which the taller white haired man, Ukitake Jushiro, leads." She tells them before putting the book away. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to visit Renji before i head back to my compound."

* * *

Meanwhile, Pendleton is walking out of the ichibantai with the other two who are telling about the time the former jubantai taichou interrupted one of Yamamoto's tea ceremonies. "-ust burst in with Shirogane fuku-taichou's daughter under his arm, begging Genryuusai-sensei to make her be his official little sister."

"And...and he survived that?" Pendleton asked before they sensed three people arriving, and made for a corner to watch Okikiba, Ichigo, and Yoruichi show up at the staircase. The latter hesitates before running up.

"What do you think?" Ukitake asks aloud after the last two also head up.

"Hmm...the orange shirt is a bit much, but Yoruichi-chan's just as-" Kyoraku says with a big smile before getting more serious when the two both look annoyed at him. "Spoilsports. It's easy to guess that no amount of preparation'll be enough to fully deal with this."

Ukitake glances at the upper floor before looking back. "Will it be as bad as when he finds out you and Omaeda-kun payed off the kidoushu to exclude her from the senkaimon's sealing?****"

Upstairs, the two step past as Kurotsuchi stomps past while complaining about shriveled-up short-sighted old men as Ichigo noted that the heaviness he felt at the foot of the stairs seemed to be getting as much as when he saw the old shinigami before his second fight with Byakuya. Once he entered, he was greeted with an open balcony-like space with only three chairs and a desk in it. "Is this really an office?" Ichigo asks himself as he rushes over to the other side, only to collide with an unseen surface. "Oof, what was that?"

"Do you not think i would leave such a vulnerability in this place." Yamamoto says as Yoruichi runs a hand down her face. "Between each of the pillars is a kido barrier that i personally maintain against fools who think they can make me an easy target and fools who think they can see their house from here." He added before motioning to Sasakibe. "Kurosaki Ichigo, you will accompany my fuku-taichou while Shihoin and i discuss other matters." He said to him.

After noting the second person seemed familiar, Ichigo asked why. "I would think that obvious; while you and your companions did battle with many of my forces, you have not truly met them. I intend to correct that. You will start with my right-hand, Sasakibe Chojiro, whom you previously escaped back at the soukyoku." Yamamoto tells him while the second man protests.

Ichigo blinks a couple times before replying. "Escaped? But i knocked him down with one hit?"

"That was merely his willpower at work; as far as Zaraki-taichou will go to restrain himself, he has yet to be as driven as Sasakibe is." Yamamoto said next.

"Eijisai-dono, could you please not do this?!" Sasakibe pleads, only to be ignored as Yamamoto pointed to his head.

"Long ago, it took all he had to leave this second scar on me." He revealed.

Ichigo unconsciously gulped at the implication that he had been that close to someone who could have twisted Byakuya in half like a plastic soda cap. "So-so, you want me to fight him?"

"Just a sparring match." Yamamoto told him. "From what i was told by those who fought with you, your zanjutsu will need refining. But that can wait."

"It can...what else is there?" Ichigo asks, not noticing Yoruichi smirking behind him as Yamamoto explained that...

1\. He is to learn the full history of the gotei jusantai.

2\. He is to have his swordsmanship tested and improved where needed.

3\. He is to be given a more formal introduction to the remaining taichous or the highest ranking uninjured subordinate.

"I suppose that sound reasonable, how long should this take?"

"24 hours to start with." He replied, making Ichigo raise a brow.

"All day? How much "history" are we talking about here?"

"Two thousand years." He, Yoruichi, and Sasakibe all replied, making Ichigo's eye twitch as the latter escorts him out. "Now then; Shihoin Yourichi, be seated." He ordered while opening his eyes. "I will not simply assume you'll willingly reveal the whereabouts of Urahara Kisuke, Tsukabishi Tessai, or the missing eight. Divulging all you know of Aizen Sousuke will suffice."

* * *

Elsewhere, Pendleton has just arrived at the yonbantai to see the ryoka lounging around. "Oh, look. It's the...what was that word again, Ishida-kun?" Orihime asked.

"Nephilim, it's a word in Latin." Uryu told her before looking at him. "Though where's that associate of yours?"

"Alkabtin Naaji left for his Soul Society, young quincy." Pendleton replied.

"You know about us?" Chado asked, only for Pendleton to glance at him like he did with Ichigo.

"...¿Tu nombre por favor?" Pendleton asked him.

"Es Sado Yasutora; Only one of my parents was from Mexico." He replied. "How many people from there are you incharge of?" He then asked. After nodding, Pendleton tells him that he has 31 of Hispanic descent. "I see. Would...would one of them be named Oscar Joaquin de la Rosa; please, if your Soul Society is for westerners, then maybe he, my abuelo, is there?"

The captain glances about in thought before shaking his head. "I'm sorry, but I'm not familiar with that name. I can ask one of the other ten that i work with, however."

"Ok. It was a long shot, anyway." Chado replies before sitting down again.

"Aside from that, you said "his Soul Society", didn't you, Pendleton-san?" Orihime asked next.

"Very good question. There are two more than the one we're in now, which is B for Buddhist. I come from Soul Society C, while Naaji is from I."

"Which would explain how that lady with the brass rings in her two braids is able to be a shinigami despite not having a Japanese name." Uryu says in reply.

"Exactly; though while the letter suffixes imply religion, each Society is only populated by souls from the three main territories in the living world." Pendleton explained.

"Well either way it must be great in the one you come from, Pendleton-san." Orihime asked aloud. "I mean, you get to go around chasing yarn after fighting those nasty hollows all day." She went on, causing Pendleton and a few nearby shinigami to stare at her.

"Inoue-san, i don't think they all turn into cats like Shihoin-san does." Uryu tells her before turning back to him. "Anyway, there's still the question of how a Nephilim can have a zanpakutou."

At this, Pendleton sighs before answering. "Honestly, i wasn't intended to. As opposed to becoming a substitute like your orange haired friend, i was konso'd by a certain shinigami before a nephilim could arrive."

"A certain shinigami...who would that have been?" Uryu asked.

"Tousen Kaname, back when he was only the kyubantai goseki."

* * *

Chapter two.

*No proof that Yachiru went to the academy.

**No proof that these two characters have that connection.

***No proof he's that old.

****Made up.

Shinigami zukan.

After Ichigo's departure, the rest of the group is lead around some more until they reach Unohana's office. "Feel free to look around, but-" Hanatarou tells them, stopping as he sees Orihime glance at a slightly out of place mat and steps toward it when another foot lands on it.

"Please refrain from touching anything in here." Unohana said as they all step back at her sudden appearance. After Hanatarou apologies for that, he escorts them out as the scene slides under the floor to reveal a large space filled with weapons of all different shapes and sizes.


	3. Chapter 3

Renraku-gakari.

* * *

Hearing the name, Uryu narrows his eyes as he thought back to the second time he saw the dark skinned person. "You've met him, i take it, former quincy?" Pendleton asked.

"Yes, twice." Uryu replied, and explained what happened to him before passing out and waking up in a cell with Sado-kun and Shiba-san.

"You're fortunate, then." Pendleton says as he folded his arms behind his back. "Or perhaps not...for you have crossed paths with one of the more dubious of the shinigami." He said next.

Uryu starts to ask what that meant just as one of the shinigami from the meeting earlier approached. "Excuse me, Ogidou hachiseki told me he saw you. Have you been waiting long, sir?" She says to Pendleton, who pulls his hood back to show short hair and what seemed to be a faded scar below his ear.

"Not at all, i was just speaking with your guests here." He tells her while giving a western bow, which she returns. "How many were you working on?"

"I was mending fractures on seki's roku through juni from hachibantai,-" She says, causing Chado to tense up in the background. "-a few internal bruises on the sanbantai nijuseki, checking Kuchiki taichou's bandages, and stopping him from bothering the nurses." She finished as she points to Ganju, who is covered in a light-blue substance.

"Ew, what's that stuff, exactly?" Orihime asked as she hid behind Chado.

"That is from a kido spell. Bakudo 37: tsuriboshi." Pendleton explained before asking for it to be removed.

"Anyway, you mean to tell us that you did all that inbetween the time that meeting ended, and just now?" Uryu asked her as Ganju shouts at him to not sound so unconcerned.

"It's easier than you'd think for the second best healer in the gotei jusantai." Pendleton tells them as she nods while gushing until he spoke again. "Although it's a bit hard to think that due to how impulsive she can be."

"I...impulsive?"

"You did charge at two taichous, one of whom tore up three bankai users without even needing his own."

"Well, i couldn't just let them get away. Besides, one of them didn't get to summon his, and the other was only at half strength."

"Whatever; the point is they did get away; plus Aizen could have not only vaporized you, but Unohana's zanpakutou, which would put her out of the fight."

"...Boasting aside, I was also the one who helped your friend here after Kyoraku taichou incapacitated him." She says as she turns away from him before realizing something. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm yonbantai fuku-taichou, Kotetsu Isane, the same one who sent that warning about the traitors earlier." She added.

"Right, you're the one who said you were married to him at some point. That and divorce are allowed here?" He asks them.

"Yes, though up until an incident after we were made official shinigami, that was only allowed for nobles." Isane explains, and blinks when she notices Orihime looking at her. "Is there a problem, Inoue-san?"

"No, i was just thinking what Kurosaki-kun would look like with beads in his hair." She explained while pointing them out, which makes Pendleton think of an event a long time ago.

Flashback.

111 years ago, an unscarred Pendleton is leaning forward in his seat at the shin'o. "Is it over yet?" He asks aloud, which a classmate with black hair responds to.

"You just sat down five minutes ago." The classmate replied in a flat tone.

At that, he turns to a second classmate. "Five minutes? Did you hear what he just said? That's practically forever!" He says while tugging his sleeve.

"Stop pulling on my clothes!" The other one shouted.

Pendleton does as requested and slumps forward again, only to hear two students to their right talking. "-st where did you get those beads from?"

He glances over to see the speaker was a blond girl speaking, but couldn't see the other one from his angle. "These; i had them made by a neighbor of mine." The unseen person says.

He then gets an odd feeling. "Each one is for a certain event that happened to me." He says after standing up to see a patch of silver hair on a girl saying the same thing infront of the blond, who both glance at him.

"Is...this a friend of yours?" The blond girl asked.

The other girl looks at him before gasping. "Ye-well, i wouldn't say friend; he's the one my fourth bead is for after i taught him our language." She says while holding the two strands, and explains that the others represent her first word, her little sister's birth, the first shinigami she saw, and the day she left for this school.

"Huh, if that's so, i guess you can consider him a friend now." The blond girl says, having silently added the word "boy".

"He-he is not a boyfriend! That was eight years ago, and i only knew him for less than a week!" Isane tells her, frantically which the nearby students are laughing at. "And what was your name again, Byu..." She asks him as she sits back down.

"Byufodo Penderuton; it's hardly as long as his name." He says as he points to the boy next to him.

"Which is?" She asks him next.

"I'm Kurumadani Zennosuke-sama, and that's Kotsubaki Sentarou." He tells her before leaning forward. "He's a fuku-taichou's kid, you know."

"Hey, i was gonna say that, fish-breath; and whaddya mean sama?!" The third one says while shoving him down. "And you two are?"

The two girls nod and reply. "I'm Kotetsu Isane, an-"/"And future taichou extraordinaire, Matsumoto Rangiku. Feel free to ask me if you need~any~les~sons." The latter says along with a wink, making the three boys gulp and Isane complain.

End flashback.

"Speaking of which, why did that older man take him and Yoruichi-san, and why did she seem so hesitant?" Orihime then asked aloud.

"Older man?" Isane asked her, only for Buford to explain.

"She means one of the sou-taichou's people; i saw them heading up there a halfhour ago."

"Oh. Do you think it'd be bad for us to go there, Captain-san?" Orihime asks him.

Buford thinks for a moment before replying. "I don't know; for someone like Shihouin to be made so timid means...but if you must, be on your best behavior in there."

The trio huddle again before agreeing and leaving.

"What do you think of them, Isane?" Buford asks as he follows her to the barracks.

"I'd say they'd all make good additions to our ranks someday." She replies. "Although, Iemura sanseki did mention being suspicious about her." She said next, and relays what he claimed to have seen.

"Down to his spine?"

"That's what he and taichou said, and that he was back on his feet faster than either he or i could have gotten him."

"What do you think it was she used?"

"Neither of us is sure; he said it both did and didn't feel like any kind of kaido." She says while shaking her head before switching topics. "I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"When i got upset before. I just-" She was saying when he turned toward her.

"I don't mind; not like i didn't earn it...The last half-century must not have been easy for you either. I'm sorry." He says as he places a hand on her cheek for a moment until she forces herself to embrace him. After a peck to her forehead, the two wipe their eyes, and she asks how his Lt. is doing.

"He's still got a slight cold, but he'll be over it. How about Kiyone?" He asked next, recalling how she wouldn't even look at him back at the ichibantai, only for Isane to stop. "Should i not have asked?"

"No, it's...after the execution was stopped, something happened to her and Kotsubaki-kun."

"Like what? Dahlman's report didn't mention them." He replies before she shuts her eyes and scowls.

"Probably because taichou asked him not to; but i just know...Sui Feng taichou hurt her somehow."

* * *

As that is going on, the trio are on the way to see Ichigo, only pausing for a meal at a place called 'Fune kaju de'* "That sure was good, wasn't it?" Orihime said.

"Though the names were a bit much." Uryu replied. "Seriously, "hou-sukiyaki-maru?"

Once they arrived, a shinigami with hair that reminded them of their principal back home appears from out of nowhere. "Ryoka-tachi, state your business."

"We're here for Ichigo." Chado says, and the two stare each other down.

"I have been commanded by the soutaichou not to let anyone pass."

"We arrived with him, and we leave with him." Chado tells him, and it continues for a few more seconds until they all hear a noise above them, that of wood hitting stone.

The four look up to see a familiar figure, to whom the sentry kneels. "Soutaichou-dono!"

"Fujiwara jugoseki**, i permit these children to enter." Yamamoto tells him, and the trio watch as he shunpo's off. "You are undoubtedly here for your compatriot." He says aloud.

"Are he and Yoruichi-san alright? We thought the whole "crush the humans" thing was over?" Orihime asks him as she steps forward.

"To come here unescorted...very well; i will lead you personally. Come, mortal youths." He tells them, and once the reach the top of the stairs, they see Yoruichi leaning against a wall.

"Hey there, took ya long enough." She says as she pushes herself off.

"Why did the soutaichou order you here, exactly?" Uryu asks her as they follow him inside. "And why drag Kurosaki with?"

"The first part is something none of you need to know." She replies with a serious glance. "The second part, though...well, let's put it this way; what are your grades in history class?" She asked them.

The three look and shrug at each other before Yamamoto stops at one door and opens it to show Kurosaki surrounded by books and scrolls while he and Sasakibe look at them, the former in a near-zombiefied state. "Huuh? Hey guys; did you know there were ten other Kenpatchi's, and that the onmitsukido was..."

"Sheesh, what the hell happened to him?" Ganju asks outloud before Ichigo lunges forward, making him stumble back. "Ahh, quit it, leggo'a me!"/"You got to get me out of here! I had to go through 2000 years of this place's backstory, and we've only covered the first 80 so far, and everyone in here has wrinkles like this one lady down the street i live on!" Ganju and Ichigo both shout as the latter latches on to the former's ankle while Orihime is the only one who looks concerned.

While Chado is trying to remove Ichigo, Uryu looks over at the fuku-taichou. "Is something the matter?" He asked.

"I've been wondering; that hairstyle of yours doesn't seem to fit with the rest of this place." Uryu told him, causing Yamamoto to groan.

"Oh~ho; this, young quincy, is a sign of my devotion to English culture, the food & drink, the fashion, the theatricals..." He says, causing Ichigo to let go and rush toward him.

"Theatricals? As in "Much Ado About Nothing"?" He asks with an out of character expression on his face.

"You know of William Shakespeare's work?" Sasakibe asked him with the same look.

"Do i ever! You have copies of them, right?"

"Absolutely! I even have some that haven't physically survived to the modern day! But should i really show them to the boy who struck me not long ago, i wonder?"

"You can return the favor a hundred times, just lead the way, Sasakibe-san!" Ichigo says while performing a dogeza.

"Consider it done, fine fellow; this way, post haste!" He replied, and both take off while shouting lines from various plays.

"Uh, Sado-kun, did that just happen?" Uryu asked.

"That reminds me, Ichigo was in the drama club back at our old school***."

"...I think I'm going to be sick."

* * *

Meanwhile, Sui Feng is exiting the kyubantai with a random shinigami when she notices Buford. "I have no time to speak with you, Captain Pendleton." She tells him.

"Is that so, do you plan to **stomp** all over me if i don't move?" He asks while tilting his head a bit.

"...If you have nothing important to say, don't hinder my duty." She says as glares at him.

While the bystander glances between them, Pendleton huffs and steps aside. "Fine; just remember, the **ruler's** decree's are inescapable." He says, and is gone before Sui Feng can look back.

* * *

Chapter three.

* Meant to mean By The Boatload since the second kanji of Hikifune's name means ship.

** Made up character.

*** Also made up.

Shinigami Zukan

While Sasakibe is going on and on, Orihime asks what is happening, which Yoruichi answers. "A long time ago, he seems to have seen a bunch of European's while he was having free time."

"Oh; that must have been after the Perry expedition." She replies, imagining him looking at the five ships entering the uraga channel before Yamamoto mumbles.

"It's but a phase he's going through, like the others."

"A phase?"

Thinking of Sasakibe always running around in Ainu, Korean, Chinese, Mongolian, and Portuguese clothing, he signs. "A phase."


	4. Chapter 4

Renraku-gakari.

Disclaimer: Skymaster23 has no connection to the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, or Ian Fleming.

* * *

Buford is walking down a street near the hachibantai following his chat when he sees Isane appear, looking upset again. "I didn't ask you to do that, Buford. Now Sui Feng is going to report it to my taichou." She tells him, and steps back.

"And to mine." Kiyone adds as she walks out from behind her sister, with a similar expression. "Even if it did turn out to be because of that four-eyed piece of crap's plan for Kuchiki taichou's sister, me and Sentarou still aided in damaging shinigami property. We knew and accepted that there would be retaliation."

Isane nods and joins in. "So while we're not appreciative of you for sticking up for us, don't do that again, please."

Buford looks between the two before replying. "You assume."

"Huh?"

He looks around for a few seconds, and leans over to them. "That confrontation i had was more on the off-chance that Sui Feng's little minion was really Aizen's."

The two sisters look startled at him when Kyoraku taichou shows up. "Well now; what might you three be doing out here?" He asks them, then starts prodding Buford with an elbow. "Heh, Byu-kun and Isane-chan are out for a family stroll?" He asks as he turns and puts his hands together. "Aw, it seemed just like yesterday when you two lovebirds were going around side by side. How i miss those days."

Buford and Kiyone both give sweatdrops while Isane blushes when all four feel a burst of reiatsu. "What the...Kiyone?!" Isane shouts as her sister bends over for a second.

"I'm alright; not used to that ryoka's reiatsu yet." Kiyone tells her. Both know it's only half true, but neither address it. "There were a lot more higher ups around last time i felt it."

"It's coming from the soutaichou's compound." Buford says as they all turn around. "I'm going to check it out, my superior'll want to hear about this Kurosaki."

* * *

A while before that, Ichigo is going through Sasakibe fuku-taichou's collection. "I honestly never thought I'd see the day when a fellow shinigami would be as open minded as i!" The latter says with a forearm over his eyes.

"It must not have been easy for Sasakibe-san to translate these; was it?" Ichigo asked while going through act three of Othello.

"Oh, most certainly, young one. It took me 40 years to master the languages, find all the originals, and write them down." Sasakibe explains as he motions around his personal library.

"All this aside, though, should we be getting to that sparring match?" Ichigo asks him.

"Hmm? Ah yes, that, we can proceed whenever you're ready...but there is more to your question." Sasakibe said in response, which made Ichigo look to his hand before shaking his head.

"Nah, let's just get this over with; i got twelve other bantai's to visit, don't forget."

The two head to the training hall, where Yamamoto, Yoruichi, and the other ryoka are waiting. The soutaichou walks to the center and places a hand on the floor, creating a kido barrier around the two. "Kurosaki Ichigo, the objective is to last one minute against Sasakibe Choujirou. If either of you fall or make contact with the field, you will lose. Understood?" He says.

"Got it."

"Begin!"

Ichigo unfurls his zanpakutou and charges at Sasakibe, who sidesteps while blocking. He swipes at the younger one, but barely misses. "You're not even going half the speed of our first encounter." He says.

"Peh, it's only been six seconds longer than that." Ichigo replied, and glanced at the hand he struck the fuku-taichou with days earlier. "It'd be more fun if you didn't hold back on me. Call out that shikai, already."

Sasakibe gives no reaction as he speaks. "...Only because you'd likely taunt me as you did the Kuchiki boy. Ugate, Gonryumaru."

On the sidelines, the others watch as the fuku-taichou starts with a thrust like he did on the hill, only this time, Ichigo blocks it and attempts to slash sideways, but Sasakibe parries and swipes at him several times. "This is what this guy can do, huh?" Ichigo thinks after ducking under another thrust, and angles his blade to blind the older man in order to try a thrust, but Sasakibe redirects it.

"Wow, all that movement in only 11 seconds. Kurosaki-kun's amazing, isn't he?" Orihime asks her two friends.

"Maybe, but i can't help but think something's off." Uryu thinks to himself while Chado, Ganju, and Yoruichi do nothing.

Ichigo continues striking at the fuku-taichou, but stops after 5 moves. "What's wrong, Kurosaki Ichigo; you can't be tired already."

"Now who's taunting. Not what I'd expect after i bruised my hand doing that."

"So you were aware this whole time; is that what you are saying?" Sasakibe asks him, but Ichigo only smirks and stands straight before looking to Yamamoto.

"This bout is over!"

As the barrier falls, Orihime looks around. "Wait, why'd he give up like that?" She asks. "Kurosaki-kun was winning, wasn't he?"

Yoruichi chuckles and speaks. "Winning? If anything, he was lucky to give in when he did."

"It took me a while to catch on, but yeah; despite how thin that blade of his was, it wasn't flexing no matter how far from the base my hits landed." Ichigo explains, causing Orihime to gasp just as Buford entered.

"Soutaichou, what was that reiatsu burst a little while ago?" He asks, and Yamamoto explains. "Oh, i see...do you intend for him to do the same with the other remaining leaders?" He asked next, causing Ichigo to flinch in the background.

"Hmm; that is difficult to say. It would be beneficial for him to learn more than a single style against Aizen, but afterwards?" Yamamoto thinks.

"Uh, time out, atleast let me catch my breath first." Ichigo says.

Hearing that, Ganju starts to smirk. "What's a'matter, tanpopo, throwing in the towel again already?" He asks, causing an angervein on Ichigo.

"No way in hell! Infact, I'll take on that nephi...what's-it right now!"

"Huh, right now?" Buford asks while blinking in confusion.

"I will permit a second match only after one half-hour and if Pendleton agrees." Yamamoto says.

Buford still looks startled until Yoruichi walks over to him. "I suggest going along with it; he'll need the practice." She tells him.

He looks to Ichigo for a moment before nodding. "Okay, I'll accept on the condition that we take this outside."

One half-hour later, the two face each other. "Let's see if that thing Ishida mentioned really is a zanpakutou, Pendleton-san." Ichigo says to him.

Buford huffs, and unsheathes it before pointing it in his direction. "Only because you asked so nicely, mortal. Yottsu-fuu ni joushou, Umo'i Kunshu*." He says, slowly twisting his katana ninety degrees as it morphs into a western hand-and-a-half sword with a crossguard shaped like two golden wings.

"Cool, just like an rpg item." Ichigo tells him.

"RPG?"

"A kind of game in my world."

"Ah. Anyway, let's see if you're everything my Lt.'s report said you are." Pendleton says, and as the match begins, he slams his palm into the blade, shattering it as Ichigo and his friends look on in shock. "Gyakufu: Hayate-go zangai!**" He shouts, and the fragments start to lift and spin around like a tornado.

Taking a few seconds to wonder if this move will be more similar to Byakuya's shikai or to the move Renji tried using on Aizen earlier, Ichigo grins and rushes at him head on.

* * *

Once the match is over, and Orihime "heals" both Ichigo and Pendleton, Yoruichi asks if they can get going with Ichigo's tour. "I guess so; what's the nibantai like?"

"Compared to this portion being the gotei jusantai's administration; the nibantai is the black ops department, equal parts Hattori Hanzo, James Bond, and Sherlock Holmes." She tell him. "Just make sure you don't piss **her** off again, Ichigo." She warned.

As the pair shunpo away, she thinks back to after the midair separation.

Flashback.

Still in cat form, Yoruichi makes her way past each patrol, and eventually reaches one of the estates in the noble's district, that of the Omaeda house. "Hey, Nakano, does anyone here own a cat?" One of the two sentries asks.

"Cat? Not sure, what color is-"/"I'll be the judge of that." The other one starts to ask just as a large man with a folding fan and sunglasses appears, standing on the wall above. The latter takes one look at the "stray" and turns to the sentries. "Let her in."

The two glance to each other and shrug before opening the door. The man jumps down in a manner much different than his size would suggest, and leads the way inside, passing several servants until they reach the main room, where he turns and kneels. "You return to us at last, taichou."

Yoruichi nods and reverts to human form. "Please don't call me that, Marenoshin."

Showing no reaction, he continues. "Yes of course, i forgot...Was Urahara Kisuke able to undo Aizen's mutation of the eight?"

"He was able to prevent the soul suicide, but they never lost the hollow infection, so they ran off." Yoruichi explained quietly.

"I understand." Marenoshin replied. "Shall i inform Yuushi-"

"It's best we don't reminisce for too long; all i need is access to the arsenal."

"Yes at once. But who should we entrust that to? Ukitake and Kyoraku? Unohana, perhaps?"

"Go with one of the first two. Retsu would get why I'm here, but she's too much like Yama' to trust."

"Right, I'll send a messenger to him as soon as possible."

End flashback.

The two arrive at the nibantai entrance, where they are met by the two leaders. Neither look pleased to see Ichigo, who waves blankly at them.

"Lev's 'ust geffif over whib." Omaeda says, only to have his shin kicked fast enough that Ichigo could barely see.

"What did i say about talking out of turn, you useless slob?" Sui Feng tells him, and turns back to him as Yoruichi starts turns her head with a hand over her mouth. "Let's just get this over with; i have more important matters to deal with." She said next, and motions for them to follow her.

* * *

Chapter 4.

* Ascend to the four winds, feather-clad ruler.

** Headwind: remnants within the storm.

Translation done by google. Let me know if it's not quite accurate, if you please.


	5. Chapter 5

Renraku-gakari.

* * *

Ichigo and his group are led into the building while the guide introduces herself. "This is where the seireitei's standard and hidden security forces reside and hone their skills; i am nibantai taichou, and keigun shoushireikan. I am Sui-Feng."

"And I'm the keiratei gundancho, Omaeda Nikkotaroemon Yos-Oof!" The large one says until she bashes him in the gut.

"I told you not to talk with your mouth full, Omaeda."

"Eh, b...but isn't that the...other way around from be...fore?" He asks while holding himself.

"Be nice to your brother, Sui-Feng." Yoruichi tells her, only to drop her smirk. "Oh wait, i didn't-"

"It's fine. I forget that myself on occasion."

"What is? Did you have a brother once?" Chado asks the taichou.

"Five of them, it's only me running the Feng clan now." She replies without looking at him.

"That must have been awful for you." Orihime says, but get no reaction either.

"Such emotions are meaningless. The first four were weak, and the fifth one got careless." Sui-Feng tells her, only to be shouted at.

"You take that back right now!"

"I beg your pardon; of what business is it to you how i speak of my own family?" She asks while turning around.

"I have every right because i lost my brother too." Orihime tells the taichou, making raise an eyebrow while Ganju glances at the former.

"Is that so?"

"I not only lost Sora-oniichan, who saved me from our abusive parents, but i saved him after he turned into a hollow. So i know exactly what it's like."

Sui-Feng checks her face and body language, but only finds honest sympathy. "...Understood."

Eventually, they reach a room with a green chair and rectangular table to it's left. "I see you kept it all." Yoruichi says as she glances around.

"Huh; does that mean this was your office, Yoruichi-san?" Ichigo asked, causing a random shinigami to lean out of a wall panel to hold a blade at the back of his head right behind him, but he is stopped by her predecessor saying Sui-Feng's name in a scolding tone, and she motions for him to withdraw.

"...Nah, this was just my bedroom; same as all the others here." She then says while everyone turns to see what they were looking at, but there was just the empty hall.

"Then you were a former commander of this branch of the shinigami at one point." Uryu said out loud.

"The former, as a matter of fact. I was the first head of the onmitsukido to answer directly to the soutaichou back inbetween the meiji and taishou periods." She tells them while plopping down in the chair. "No dust at all? Good job...kind of cold though with no one using it for so long." She says to herself as she slides a hand on the armrest.

"Yes, i had it tended to after you explained the reasons behind your self-exile." Sui-Feng tells her, and glances to the ryoka. "I observed your movements while dispatching my fuku-taichou and the other two. You were given personal training from Shihoiun, correct?"

"Uh, yeah, she showed me about the difference between shikai and bankai-" Ichigo tries to say when Sui-Feng leans toward him.

"Which you managed to achieve after only knowing what a shinigami is for three months...how is that possible?"

"How? Should i tell her, Yoruichi-san?" He asks, and explains about the hidden cavern after she vouches for the pair.

"...I see; you only know zanjustu." The taichou says to herself, outwardly calm...outwardly. "Only the basics when it comes to hakuda?"

"Pretty much. I know how to fistfight well enough since i was a 4 year old practicing with Tatsuki."

"Tatsuki? One of your friends here?"

"No, Arisawa Tatsuki is another friend of mine, and Inoue's, back in our world who's family owns a karate dojo."

Sui-Feng pauses to memorize the name before continuing. "Very well then, while you do know enough to bring down three fuku-taichou, it would seem you will need more lessons in that area."

"Wh-lessons, but i just fought with two people just a little while ago, so i..." Ichigo tries to say before Sui-Feng grabs his arm and the two vanish.

Omaeda then takes charge. "Um...Now then, follow me to the Omaeda family compound to see how real shinigami operate."

A few moments later, Sui-Feng and Ichigo arrive at a dilapidated part of the seireitei. "I said i don't wanna...What's all-isn't this seki-seki stuff supposed to be indestructible?" He asks her as he pokes a piece of melted stone with his foot.

"Only from direct hits; this was the residence of a member of the five noble houses until he was arrested for murder. No one has been here until Yamamoto and his two students fought here a few days ago." She explained before raising a hand, causing a structure to appear all around him. "But that is not why you are here; you must exit this maze in ten minutes." She adds from the part of it she is standing on.

"Do what, ten minutes?! Wasn't i only supposed to be sparring with you?" He asks her, only for her to balk at the idea.

"Don't be so full of yourself, ryoka. There are keigun operatives at each dead-end for you to demonstrate your skill on. Defeat however many of them you encounter in battle and then i will consider mentoring you."

"Aw, dammit...just blow your whistle or whatever, already."

While that is going on, Buford and the Kotetsu sisters are sharing stories at yonbantai when hear an explosion. "That makes six now. I wonder what Kuchiki-san sees in that kid when he can't even shoot back?" Kiyone asks outloud before reaching for another cracker.

"I just hope Sui-Feng taichou doesn't take it too far, we're low on supplies as it is." Isane replies while shaking her head.

"You fought with him yourself a little while ago, didn't you; do you suppose he is worth trusting like my taichou is saying he is?" Kiyone asks next.

"Does he now? Well, he only won against me because Kuchiki taichou's method of fighting is similar to mine, but it really depends on if or not he was exposed to that ability Aizen has like we were." Buford tells them, which ends the conversation, each one unwilling to consider what the future may hold.

* * *

Chapter five.


End file.
